Chapter LXXII: Part 72

Internet hosts:

1 (2008)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

1 (2000)

Internet users:

900 (2002)

Transportation Wallis and Futuna

Airports:

2 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)

Merchant marine:

total: 8 by type: chemical tanker 2, passenger 6 foreign-owned: 8 (France 6, French Polynesia 2) (2008)

Ports and terminals:

Leava, Mata-Utu

Military Wallis and Futuna

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 172 female: 170 (2008 est.)

Military - note:

defense is the responsibility of France

Transnational Issues Wallis and Futuna

Disputes - international:

none

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@West Bank

Introduction West Bank

Background:

The September 1993 Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements provided for a transitional period of Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Under a series of agreements signed between May 1994 and September 1999, Israel transferred to the Palestinian Authority (PA) security and civilian responsibility for Palestinian-populated areas of the West Bank and Gaza. Negotiations to determine the permanent status of the West Bank and Gaza stalled following the outbreak of an intifada in September 2000, as Israeli forces reoccupied most Palestinian-controlled areas. In April 2003, the Quartet (US, EU, UN, and Russia) presented a roadmap to a final settlement of the conflict by 2005 based on reciprocal steps by the two parties leading to two states, Israel and a democratic Palestine. The proposed date for a permanent status agreement was postponed indefinitely due to violence and accusations that both sides had not followed through on their commitments. Following Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT's death in late 2004, Mahmud ABBAS was elected PA president in January 2005. A month later, Israel and the PA agreed to the Sharm el-Sheikh Commitments in an effort to move the peace process forward. In September 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew all its settlers and soldiers and dismantled its military facilities in the Gaza Strip and withdrew settlers and redeployed soldiers from four small northern West Bank settlements. Nonetheless, Israel controls maritime, airspace, and most access to the Gaza Strip. A November 2005 PA-Israeli agreement authorized the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt under joint PA and Egyptian control. In January 2006, the Islamic Resistance Movement, HAMAS, won control of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC). The international community refused to accept the HAMAS-led government because it did not recognize Israel, would not renounce violence, and refused to honor previous peace agreements between Israel and the PA. HAMAS took control of the PA government in March 2006, but President ABBAS had little success negotiating with HAMAS to present a political platform acceptable to the international community so as to lift economic sanctions on Palestinians. The PLC was unable to convene throughout most of 2006 as a result of Israel's detention of many HAMAS PLC members and Israeli-imposed travel restrictions on other PLC members. Violent clashes took place between Fatah and HAMAS supporters in the Gaza Strip in 2006 and early 2007, resulting in numerous Palestinian deaths and injuries. ABBAS and HAMAS Political Bureau Chief MISHAL in February 2007 signed the Mecca Agreement in Saudi Arabia that resulted in the formation of a Palestinian National Unity Government (NUG) headed by HAMAS member Ismail HANIYA. However, fighting continued in the Gaza Strip, and in June, HAMAS militants succeeded in a violent takeover of all military and governmental institutions in the Gaza Strip. ABBAS dismissed the NUG and through a series of presidential decrees formed a PA government in the West Bank led by independent Salam FAYYAD. HAMAS rejected the NUG's dismissal and has called for resuming talks with Fatah, but ABBAS has ruled out negotiations until HAMAS agrees to a return of PA control over the Gaza Strip and recognizes the FAYYAD-led government. FAYYAD and his PA government initiated a series of security and economic reforms to improve conditions in the West Bank. ABBAS participated in talks with Israel's Prime Minister OLMERT and secured the release of some Palestinian prisoners and previously withheld customs revenue. During a November 2007 international meeting in Annapolis Maryland, ABBAS and OLMERT agreed to resume peace negotiations with the goal of reaching a final peace settlement by the end of 2008.

Geography West Bank

Location:

Middle East, west of Jordan

Geographic coordinates:

32 00 N, 35 15 E

Map references:

Middle East

Area:

total: 5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967

Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than Delaware

Land boundaries:

total: 404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km

Coastline:

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:

none (landlocked)

Climate:

temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters

Terrain:

mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 m

Natural resources:

arable land

Land use:

arable land: 16.9% permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001)

Irrigated land:

150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)

Natural hazards:

droughts

Environment - current issues:

adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment

Geography - note:

landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are about 340 Israeli civilian sites--including 100 small outpost communities in the West Bank and 29 sites in East Jerusalem (July 2008 est.)

People West Bank

Population:

2,407,681 note: in addition, there are about 187,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and fewer than 177,000 in East Jerusalem (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 38% (male 469,754/female 445,999) 15-64 years: 58.3% (male 719,267/female 684,790) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 36,606/female 51,265) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 20.2 years male: 20 years female: 20.4 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.225% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

25.95 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

3.7 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 16.51 deaths/1,000 live births male: 18.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 74.29 years male: 72.32 years female: 76.38 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

3.31 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

NA

Nationality:

noun: NA adjective: NA

Ethnic groups:

Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17%

Religions:

Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8%

Languages:

Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 92.4% male: 96.7% female: 88% (2004 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 14 years male: 13 years female: 14 years (2006)

Education expenditures:

NA

Government West Bank

Country name:

conventional long form: none conventional short form: West Bank

Economy West Bank

Economy - overview:

The West Bank - the larger of the two areas comprising the Palestinian Authority (PA) - has experienced a general decline in economic conditions since the second intifada began in September 2000. The downturn has been largely a result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of closures and access restrictions in response to security concerns in Israel - which disrupted labor and trading relationships. In 2001, and even more severely in 2002, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. International aid of at least $1.14 billion to the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. In 2005, high unemployment and limited trade opportunities - due to continued closures both within the West Bank and externally - stymied growth. Israel's and the international community's financial embargo of the PA when HAMAS ran the PA during March 2006 - June 2007 has interrupted the provision of PA social services and the payment of PA salaries. Since June the Fayyad government in the West Bank has restarted salary payments and the provision of services but would be unable to operate absent high levels of international assistance.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$5.034 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$5.328 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

-8% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$1,100 (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 8% industry: 13% services: 79% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)

Labor force:

605,000 (2006)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 18% industry: 15% services: 67% (2006)

Unemployment rate:

18.6% (2006)

Population below poverty line:

46% (2007 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Budget:

revenues: $1.149 billion expenditures: $2.31 billion note: includes Gaza Strip (2006)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

3.6% (includes Gaza Strip) (2006)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

7.73% (31 December 2006)

Stock of money:

$1.574 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:

$3.048 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:

$1.455 billion (31 December 2007)

Agriculture - products:

olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products

Industries:

generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers

Industrial production growth rate:

2.4% (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Electricity - production:

NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants

Electricity - consumption:

NA kWh

Electricity - imports:

NA kWh

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Exports:

$301 million f.o.b.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Exports - commodities:

olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone

Exports - partners:

Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006)

Imports:

$2.44 billion c.i.f.; (includes Gaza Strip) (2005)

Imports - commodities:

food, consumer goods, construction materials

Imports - partners:

Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:

$1.4 billion; (includes Gaza Strip) (2006 est.)

Debt - external:

$NA

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$4.461 billion (2005)

Currency (code):

new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD)

Currency code:

ILS; JOD

Exchange rates:

new Israeli shekels (ILS) per US dollar - 4.14 (2007), 4.4565 (2006), 4.4877 (2005), 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003)

Communications West Bank

Telephones - main lines in use:

350,400 (includes Gaza Strip) (2007)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

1.026 million (includes Gaza Strip) (2007)

Telephone system:

general assessment: NA domestic: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for fixed line services; the Palestinian JAWAL company provides cellular services international: country code - 970 (2004)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 0, FM 25, shortwave 0 (2008)

Radios:

NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999)

Television broadcast stations:

30 (2008)

Televisions:

NA; note - many Palestinian households have televisions (1999)

Internet country code:

.ps; note - same as Gaza Strip

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

8 (1999)

Internet users:

355,500 (includes Gaza Strip) (2007)

Transportation West Bank

Airports:

3 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007)

Roadways:

total: 5,147 km paved: 5,147 km note: includes Gaza Strip (2006)

Military West Bank

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 29,866 female: 28,372 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

NA

Transnational Issues West Bank

Disputes - international:

West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel continues construction of a "seam line" separation barrier along parts of the Green Line and within the West Bank; Israel withdrew from four settlements in the northern West Bank in August 2005; since 1948, about 350 peacekeepers from the UN Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO), headquartered in Jerusalem, monitor ceasefires, supervise armistice agreements, prevent isolated incidents from escalating, and assist other UN personnel in the region

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

refugees (country of origin): 722,000 (Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA)) (2007)

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Western Sahara

Introduction Western Sahara

Background:

Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. In April 2007, Morocco presented an autonomy plan for the territory to the UN, which the U.S. considers serious and credible. The Polisario also presented a plan to the UN in 2007. Since June 2007, representatives from the Government of Morocco and the Polisario Front have met four times to negotiate the status of Western Sahara.

Geography Western Sahara

Location:

Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco

Geographic coordinates:

24 30 N, 13 00 W

Map references:

Africa

Area:

total: 266,000 sq km land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:

about the size of Colorado

Land boundaries:

total: 2,046 km border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 km

Coastline:

1,110 km

Maritime claims:

contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue

Climate:

hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew

Terrain:

mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m highest point: unnamed elevation 805 m

Natural resources:

phosphates, iron ore

Land use:

arable land: 0.02% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005)

Irrigated land:

NA

Natural hazards:

hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility

Environment - current issues:

sparse water and lack of arable land

Environment - international agreements:

party to: none of the selected agreements signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas

People Western Sahara

Population:

393,831 note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 45.1% (male 90,306/female 87,498) 15-64 years: 52.6% (male 101,730/female 105,313) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,786/female 5,198) (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.868% NA (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

39.95 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

11.74 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

NA

Infant mortality rate:

total: 71.13 deaths/1,000 live births male: 71.22 deaths/1,000 live births female: 71.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 53.92 years NA male: 51.64 years NA female: 56.31 years NA (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

NA 5.69 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

NA

Nationality:

noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s) adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian

Ethnic groups:

Arab, Berber

Religions:

Muslim

Languages:

Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic

Literacy:

NA

Government Western Sahara

Country name:

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara

Government type:

legal status of territory and issue of sovereignty unresolved; territory contested by Morocco and Polisario Front (Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro), which in February 1976 formally proclaimed a government-in-exile of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), led by President Mohamed ABDELAZIZ; territory partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania in April 1976, with Morocco acquiring northern two-thirds; Mauritania, under pressure from Polisario guerrillas, abandoned all claims to its portion in August 1979; Morocco moved to occupy that sector shortly thereafter and has since asserted administrative control; the Polisario's government-in-exile was seated as an Organization of African Unity (OAU) member in 1984; guerrilla activities continued sporadically until a UN-monitored cease-fire was implemented on 6 September 1991 (Security Council Resolution 690) by the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara or MINURSO

Capital:

none time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

none (under de facto control of Morocco)

Suffrage:

none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed

Executive branch:

none

Political pressure groups and leaders:

none

International organization participation:

WFTU

Diplomatic representation in the US:

none

Diplomatic representation from the US:

none

Economy Western Sahara

Economy - overview:

Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006 the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$NA

GDP (official exchange rate):

$NA

GDP - real growth rate:

NA%

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$NA

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: 40%

Labor force:

12,000 (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 50% industry and services: 50% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate:

NA%

Population below poverty line:

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Budget:

revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

NA%

Agriculture - products:

fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish

Industries:

phosphate mining, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate:

NA%

Electricity - production:

90 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

83.7 million kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2007)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Oil - production:

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption:

1,760 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:

0 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports:

1,925 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:

0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)

Natural gas - production:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Exports:

$NA

Exports - commodities:

phosphates 62%

Exports - partners:

Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006)

Imports:

$NA

Imports - commodities:

fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:

Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:

$NA

Debt - external:

$NA

Currency (code):

Moroccan dirham (MAD)

Currency code:

MAD

Exchange rates:

Moroccan dirhams (MAD) per US dollar - 8.3563 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003)

Communications Western Sahara

Telephones - main lines in use:

about 2,000 (1999 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

0 (1999)

Telephone system:

general assessment: sparse and limited system domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:

56,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

NA

Televisions:

6,000 (1997)

Internet country code:

.eh

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

1 (2000)

Internet users:

NA

Transportation Western Sahara

Airports:

9 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007)

Ports and terminals:

Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun)

Military Western Sahara

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 4,658 female: 4,545 (2008 est.)

Transnational Issues Western Sahara

Disputes - international:

Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@World

Introduction World

Background:

Globally, the 20th century was marked by: (a) two devastating world wars; (b) the Great Depression of the 1930s; (c) the end of vast colonial empires; (d) rapid advances in science and technology, from the first airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (US) to the landing on the moon; (e) the Cold War between the Western alliance and the Warsaw Pact nations; (f) a sharp rise in living standards in North America, Europe, and Japan; (g) increased concerns about the environment, including loss of forests, shortages of energy and water, the decline in biological diversity, and air pollution; (h) the onset of the AIDS epidemic; and (i) the ultimate emergence of the US as the only world superpower. The planet's population continues to explode: from 1 billion in 1820, to 2 billion in 1930, 3 billion in 1960, 4 billion in 1974, 5 billion in 1988, and 6 billion in 2000. For the 21st century, the continued exponential growth in science and technology raises both hopes (e.g., advances in medicine) and fears (e.g., development of even more lethal weapons of war).

Geography World

Geographic overview:

The surface of the earth is approximately 70.9% water and 29.1% land. The former portion is divided into large water bodies termed oceans. The World Factbook recognizes and describes five oceans, which are in decreasing order of size: the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean. The land portion is generally divided into several, large, discrete landmasses termed continents. Depending on the convention used, the number of continents can vary from five to seven. The most common classification recognizes seven, which are (from largest to smallest): Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. Asia and Europe are sometimes lumped together into a Eurasian continent resulting in six continents. Alternatively, North and South America are sometimes grouped as simply the Americas, resulting in a continent total of six (or five, if the Eurasia designation is used). North America is commonly understood to include the island of Greenland, the isles of the Caribbean, and to extend south all the way to the Isthmus of Panama. The easternmost extent of Europe is generally defined as being the Ural Mountains and the Ural River; on the southeast the Caspian Sea; and on the south the Caucasus Mountains, the Black Sea, and the Mediterranean. Africa's northeast extremity is frequently delimited at the Isthmus of Suez, but for geopolitical purposes, the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula is often included as part of Africa. Asia usually incorporates all the islands of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The islands of the Pacific are often lumped with Australia into a "land mass" termed Oceania or Australasia. Although the above groupings are the most common, different continental dispositions are recognized or taught in certain parts of the world, with some arrangements more heavily based on cultural spheres rather than physical geographic considerations.

Map references:

Physical Map of the World, Political Map of the World, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:

total: 510.072 million sq km land: 148.94 million sq km water: 361.132 million sq km note: 70.9% of the world's surface is water, 29.1% is land

Area - comparative:

land area about 16 times the size of the US

Land boundaries:

the land boundaries in the world total 251,060 km (not counting shared boundaries twice); two nations, China and Russia, each border 14 other countries note: 45 nations and other areas are landlocked, these include: Afghanistan, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Holy See (Vatican City), Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Mongolia, Nepal, Niger, Paraguay, Rwanda, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, West Bank, Zambia, Zimbabwe; two of these, Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan, are doubly landlocked

Coastline:

356,000 km note: 94 nations and other entities are islands that border no other countries, they include: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Ashmore and Cartier Islands, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Baker Island, Barbados, Bermuda, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Christmas Island, Clipperton Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Comoros, Cook Islands, Coral Sea Islands, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominica, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), Faroe Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Greenland, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Howland Island, Iceland, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jan Mayen, Japan, Jarvis Island, Jersey, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Kiribati, Madagascar, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Federated States of Micronesia, Midway Islands, Montserrat, Nauru, Navassa Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Palmyra Atoll, Paracel Islands, Philippines, Pitcairn Islands, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Spratly Islands, Sri Lanka, Svalbard, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna, Taiwan

Maritime claims:

a variety of situations exist, but in general, most countries make the following claims measured from the mean low-tide baseline as described in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea: territorial sea - 12 nm, contiguous zone - 24 nm, and exclusive economic zone - 200 nm; additional zones provide for exploitation of continental shelf resources and an exclusive fishing zone; boundary situations with neighboring states prevent many countries from extending their fishing or economic zones to a full 200 nm

Climate:

a wide equatorial band of hot and humid tropical climates - bordered north and south by subtropical temperate zones - that separate two large areas of cold and dry polar climates

Terrain:

the greatest ocean depth is the Mariana Trench at 10,924 m in the Pacific Ocean

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Bentley Subglacial Trench -2,540 m note: in the oceanic realm, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the lowest point, lying -10,924 m below the surface of the Pacific Ocean highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m

Natural resources:

the rapid depletion of nonrenewable mineral resources, the depletion of forest areas and wetlands, the extinction of animal and plant species, and the deterioration in air and water quality (especially in Eastern Europe, the former USSR, and China) pose serious long-term problems that governments and peoples are only beginning to address

Land use:

arable land: 10.57% permanent crops: 1.04% other: 88.38% (2005)

Irrigated land:

2,770,980 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:

large areas subject to severe weather (tropical cyclones), natural disasters (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions)

Environment - current issues:

large areas subject to overpopulation, industrial disasters, pollution (air, water, acid rain, toxic substances), loss of vegetation (overgrazing, deforestation, desertification), loss of wildlife, soil degradation, soil depletion, erosion; global warming becoming a greater concern

Geography - note:

the world is now thought to be about 4.55 billion years old, just about one-third of the 13.7-billion-year age estimated for the universe

People World

Population:

6,706,993,152 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 27.3% (male 944,665,142/female 887,471,328) 15-64 years: 65.1% 65 years and over: 7.6% (male 222,808,372/female 284,647,297) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: male: 27.4 years female: 28.7 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

1.188% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

20.18 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

8.23 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 42.09 deaths/1,000 live births male: 44.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 39.09 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 66.26 years male: 64.3 years female: 68.35 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

2.61 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

NA

Religions:

Christians 33.32% (of which Roman Catholics 16.99%, Protestants 5.78%, Orthodox 3.53%, Anglicans 1.25%), Muslims 21.01%, Hindus 13.26%, Buddhists 5.84%, Sikhs 0.35%, Jews 0.23%, Baha'is 0.12%, other religions 11.78%, non-religious 11.77%, atheists 2.32% (2007 est.)

Languages:

Mandarin Chinese 13.22%, Spanish 4.88%, English 4.68%, Arabic 3.12%, Hindi 2.74%, Portuguese 2.69%, Bengali 2.59%, Russian 2.2%, Japanese 1.85%, Standard German 1.44%, French 1.2% (2005 est.) note: percents are for "first language" speakers only

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 82% male: 87% female: 77% note: over two-thirds of the world's 785 million illiterate adults are found in only eight countries (India, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Egypt); of all the illiterate adults in the world, two-thirds are women; extremely low literacy rates are concentrated in three regions, South and West Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Arab states, where around one-third of the men and half of all women are illiterate (2005 est.)

Government World

Administrative divisions:

266 nations, dependent areas, and other entities

Legal system:

all members of the UN are parties to the statute that established the International Court of Justice (ICJ) or World Court

Economy World

Economy - overview:

Global output rose by 5.2% in 2007, led by China (11.4%), India (9.2%), and Russia (8.1%). The 14 other successor nations of the USSR and the other old Warsaw Pact nations again experienced widely divergent growth rates; the three Baltic nations continued as strong performers, in the 8%-10% range of growth. From 2006 to 2007 growth rates slowed in all the major industrial countries except for the United Kingdom (3.1%). Analysts attribute the slowdown to uncertainties in the financial markets and lowered consumer confidence. Worldwide, nations varied widely in their growth results. Externally, the nation-state, as a bedrock economic-political institution, is steadily losing control over international flows of people, goods, funds, and technology. Internally, the central government often finds its control over resources slipping as separatist regional movements - typically based on ethnicity - gain momentum, e.g., in many of the successor states of the former Soviet Union, in the former Yugoslavia, in India, in Iraq, in Indonesia, and in Canada. Externally, the central government is losing decisionmaking powers to international bodies, notably the EU. In Western Europe, governments face the difficult political problem of channeling resources away from welfare programs in order to increase investment and strengthen incentives to seek employment. The addition of 80 million people each year to an already overcrowded globe is exacerbating the problems of pollution, desertification, underemployment, epidemics, and famine. Because of their own internal problems and priorities, the industrialized countries devote insufficient resources to deal effectively with the poorer areas of the world, which, at least from an economic point of view, are becoming further marginalized. The introduction of the euro as the common currency of much of Western Europe in January 1999, while paving the way for an integrated economic powerhouse, poses economic risks because of varying levels of income and cultural and political differences among the participating nations. The terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2001 accentuated a growing risk to global prosperity, illustrated, for example, by the reallocation of resources away from investment to anti-terrorist programs. The opening of war in March 2003 between a US-led coalition and Iraq added new uncertainties to global economic prospects. After the initial coalition victory, the complex political difficulties and the high economic cost of establishing domestic order in Iraq became major global problems that continued through 2007.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

GWP (gross world product): $65.61 trillion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

GWP (gross world product): $54.62 trillion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

5.2% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$10,000 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 4% industry: 32% services: 64% (2007 est.)

Labor force:

3.131 billion (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 40.2% industry: 20.5% services: 39.4% (2007 est.)

Unemployment rate:

30% combined unemployment and underemployment in many non-industrialized countries; developed countries typically 4%-12% unemployment (2007 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 2.5% highest 10%: 29.8% (2002 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):

22.7% of GDP (2007 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

developed countries 1% to 4% typically; developing countries 5% to 20% typically; national inflation rates vary widely in individual cases, from declining prices in Japan to hyperinflation in one Third World country (Zimbabwe); inflation rates have declined for most countries for the last several years, held in check by increasing international competition from several low wage countries (2005 est.)

Industries:

dominated by the onrush of technology, especially in computers, robotics, telecommunications, and medicines and medical equipment; most of these advances take place in OECD nations; only a small portion of non-OECD countries have succeeded in rapidly adjusting to these technological forces; the accelerated development of new industrial (and agricultural) technology is complicating already grim environmental problems

Industrial production growth rate:

5% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

18.96 trillion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

16.88 trillion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - exports:

655.6 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:

627.9 billion kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: NA hydro: NA nuclear: NA other: NA

Oil - production:

84.79 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption:

85.27 million bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - exports:

66.19 million bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports:

65.41 million bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:

1.332 trillion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production:

3.021 trillion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

3.198 trillion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

929.9 billion cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

957.6 billion cu m (2007)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

175.4 trillion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Exports:

$13.89 trillion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities:

the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services top ten - share of world trade: electrical machinery, including computers 14.8%; mineral fuels, including oil, coal, gas, and refined products 14.4%; nuclear reactors, boilers, and parts 14.2%; cars, trucks, and buses 8.9%; scientific and precision instruments 3.5%; plastics 3.4%; iron and steel 2.7%; organic chemicals 2.6%; pharmaceutical products 2.6%; diamonds, pearls, and precious stones 1.9% (2006 est.)

Exports - partners:

US 13.7%, Germany 7.3%, China 6.2%, France 4.6%, UK 4.5%, Japan 4.1% (2007)

Imports:

$13.74 trillion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities:

the whole range of industrial and agricultural goods and services top ten - share of world trade: see listing for exports

Imports - partners:

China 10.7%, Germany 9.23%, US 8.28%, Japan 5.14%, France 3.99% (2007)

Economic aid - recipient:

ODA, $106.4 billion (2005)

Debt - external:

$51.78 trillion note: this figure is the sum total of all countries' external debt, both public and private (2004 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:

World total DFI $14 trillion top ten recipients of DFI: US $1.966 trillion; UK $1.324 trillion; France $872.4 billion; Germany $811.0 billion; HK $780.4 billion; China $758.9 billion; Belgium $703.9 billion; Netherlands $535.1 billion; Canada $527.4 billion; Spain $487.8 billion (year-end 2007 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:

World total DFI $14 trillion top ten sources of DFI: US $2.627 trillion; UK $1.741 trillion; France $1.211 trillion; Germany $1.123 trillion; Netherlands $811.4 billion; HK $716.2 billion; Spain $613.9 billion; Switzerland $591.5 billion; Belgium $537.6 billion; Japan $527.8 billion (year-end 2007 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares:

$53.51 trillion (2006)

Communications World

Telephones - main lines in use:

1,263,367,600 (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

2,168,433,600 (2005)

Telephone system:

general assessment: NA domestic: NA international: NA

Radio broadcast stations:

AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA

Radios:

NA

Television broadcast stations:

NA

Televisions:

NA

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

10,350 (2000 est.)

Internet users:

1,018,057,389 (2005)

Transportation World

Airports:

total airports - 49,024 top ten by passengers: Atlanta - 84,846,639; Chicago - 77,028,134; London - 67,530,197; Tokyo - 65,810,672; Los Angeles - 61,041,066; Dallas/Fort Worth - 60,226,138; Paris - 56,849,567; Frankfurt - 52,810,683; Beijing - 48,654,770; Denver - 47,325,016 top ten by cargo (metric tons): Memphis - 3,692,081; Hong Kong - 3,609,780; Anchorage - 2,691,395; Seoul - 2,336,572; Tokyo - 2,280,830; Shanghai - 2,168,122; Paris - 2,130,724; Frankfurt - 2,127,646; Louisville (US) - 1,983,032; Singapore - 1,931,881 (2006)

Heliports:

1,359 (2007)

Railways:

total: 1,370,782 km (2006)

Roadways:

total: 68,937,575 km (2008)

Waterways:

671,886 km (2004)

Ports and terminals:

top ten container ports (TEUs): Singapore - 24,792,400; Hong Kong - 23,539,000; Shanghai - 21,710,000; Shenzhen (China) - 18,468,890; Busan (South Korea) - 12,030,000; Kaohsiung (Taiwan) - 9,774,670; - Rotterdam - 9,603,000; Dubai (UAE) - 8,923,465; Hamburg - 8,861,545; Los Angeles - 8,469,853 (2006)

Military World

Military expenditures:

roughly 2% of GDP of gross world product (2005 est.)

Transnational Issues World

Disputes - international:

stretching over 250,000 km, the world's 322 international land boundaries separate 194 independent states and 70 dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, and other miscellaneous entities; ethnicity, culture, race, religion, and language have divided states into separate political entities as much as history, physical terrain, political fiat, or conquest, resulting in sometimes arbitrary and imposed boundaries; most maritime states have claimed limits that include territorial seas and exclusive economic zones; overlapping limits due to adjacent or opposite coasts create the potential for 430 bilateral maritime boundaries of which 209 have agreements that include contiguous and non-contiguous segments; boundary, borderland/resource, and territorial disputes vary in intensity from managed or dormant to violent or militarized; undemarcated, indefinite, porous, and unmanaged boundaries tend to encourage illegal cross-border activities, uncontrolled migration, and confrontation; territorial disputes may evolve from historical and/or cultural claims, or they may be brought on by resource competition; ethnic and cultural clashes continue to be responsible for much of the territorial fragmentation and internal displacement of the estimated 6.6 million people and cross-border displacements of 8.6 million refugees around the world as of early 2006; just over one million refugees were repatriated in the same period; other sources of contention include access to water and mineral (especially hydrocarbon) resources, fisheries, and arable land; armed conflict prevails not so much between the uniformed armed forces of independent states as between stateless armed entities that detract from the sustenance and welfare of local populations, leaving the community of nations to cope with resultant refugees, hunger, disease, impoverishment, and environmental degradation

Refugees and internally displaced persons:

the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that in December 2006 there was a global population of 8.8 million registered refugees and as many as 24.5 million IDPs in more than 50 countries; the actual global population of refugees is probably closer to 10 million given the estimated 1.5 million Iraqi refugees displaced throughout the Middle East (2007)

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: approximately 800,000 people, mostly women and children, are trafficked annually across national borders, not including millions trafficked within their own countries; at least 80% of the victims are female and up to 50% are minors; 75% of all victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation; almost two-thirds of the global victims are trafficked intra-regionally within East Asia and the Pacific (260,000 to 280,000 people) and Europe and Eurasia (170,000 to 210,000 people) Tier 2 Watch List: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, The Gambia, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, India, Jordan, Libya, Malaysia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Niger, Panama, Republic of the Congo, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe Tier 3: Algeria, Burma, Cuba, Fiji, Iran, Kuwait, Moldova, North Korea, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria (2008)

Illicit drugs:

cocaine: worldwide coca leaf cultivation in 2007 amounted to 232,500 hectares; Colombia produced slightly more than two-thirds of the worldwide crop, followed by Peru and Bolivia; potential pure cocaine production decreased 7% to 865 metric tons in 2007; Colombia conducts aggressive coca eradication campaign, but both Peruvian and Bolivian Governments are hesitant to eradicate coca in key growing areas; 551 metric tons of export-quality cocaine (85% pure) is documented to have been seized or destroyed in 2005; US consumption of export quality cocaine is estimated to have been in excess of 380 metric tons opiates: worldwide illicit opium poppy cultivation continued to increase in 2007, with a potential opium production of 8,400 metric tons, reaching the highest levels recorded since estimates began in mid-1980s; Afghanistan is world's primary opium producer, accounting for 95% of the global supply; Southeast Asia - responsible for 9% of global opium - saw marginal increases in production; Latin America produced 1% of global opium, but most was refined into heroin destined for the US market; if all potential opium was processed into pure heroin, the potential global production would be 1,000 metric tons of heroin in 2007

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Yemen

Introduction Yemen

Background:

North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border.

Geography Yemen

Location:

Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia

Geographic coordinates:

15 00 N, 48 00 E

Map references:

Middle East

Area:

total: 527,970 sq km land: 527,970 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen)

Area - comparative:

slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming

Land boundaries:

total: 1,746 km border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 km

Coastline:

1,906 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate:

mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east

Terrain:

narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m

Natural resources:

petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble; small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper; fertile soil in west

Land use:

arable land: 2.91% permanent crops: 0.25% other: 96.84% (2005)

Irrigated land:

5,500 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

4.1 cu km (1997)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 6.63 cu km/yr (4%/1%/95%) per capita: 316 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

sandstorms and dust storms in summer

Environment - current issues:

limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes

People Yemen

Population:

23,013,376 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 46.2% (male 5,415,385/female 5,218,237) 15-64 years: 51.2% (male 5,996,202/female 5,795,779) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 284,195/female 303,578) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 16.7 years male: 16.7 years female: 16.8 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

3.46% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

42.42 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

7.83 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

NA (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 56.27 deaths/1,000 live births male: 60.78 deaths/1,000 live births female: 51.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 62.9 years male: 60.96 years female: 64.94 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

6.41 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

12,000 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

NA

Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk: high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: dengue fever and malaria water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2008)

Nationality:

noun: Yemeni(s) adjective: Yemeni

Ethnic groups:

predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans

Religions:

Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shia), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu

Languages:

Arabic

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 50.2% male: 70.5% female: 30% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 9 years male: 11 years female: 7 years (2005)

Education expenditures:

9.6% of GDP (2001)

Government Yemen

Country name:

conventional long form: Republic of Yemen conventional short form: Yemen local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah local short form: Al Yaman former: Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]

Government type:

republic

Capital:

name: Sanaa geographic coordinates: 15 21 N, 44 12 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions:

19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz note: for electoral and administrative purposes, the capital city of Sanaa is treated as an additional governorate

Independence:

22 May 1990 (Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]); note - previously North Yemen became independent in November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and became a republic with the overthrow of the theocratic Imamate in 1962; South Yemen became independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK)

National holiday:

Unification Day, 22 May (1990)

Constitution:

16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001

Legal system:

based on Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage:

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994) head of government: Prime Minister Ali Muhammad MUJAWWAR (since 31 March 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 20 September 2006 (next to be held in September 2013); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 77.2%, Faysal BIN SHAMLAN 21.8%

Legislative branch:

a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) elections: last held on 27 April 2003 (next to be held in April 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GPC 228, Islah 47, YSP 7, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party 2, independents 14

Judicial branch:

Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders:

General People's Congress or GPC [Abdul-Kader BAJAMMAL]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Mohammed Abdullah AL-YADOUMI (acting)]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdal Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; National Arab Socialist Ba'th Party [Dr. Qasim SALAM]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]; note - there are at least seven more active political parties

Political pressure groups and leaders:

Muslim Brotherhood; Women National Committee other: conservative tribal groups

International organization participation:

AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, MINURCAT, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation in the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahab Abdallah al-HAJRI chancery: 2319 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760 FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017

Diplomatic representation from the US:

chief of mission: Ambassador Stephen A. SECHE embassy: Sa'awan Street, Sanaa mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa telephone: [967] (1) 755-2000 ext. 2153 or 2266 FAX: [967] (1) 303-182

Flag description:

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria, which has two green stars in the white band, and of Iraq, which has an Arabic inscription centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band

Economy Yemen

Economy - overview:

Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported average annual growth in the range of 3-4% from 2000 through 2007. Its economic fortunes depend mostly on declining oil resources, but the country is trying to diversify its earnings. In 2006 Yemen began an economic reform program designed to bolster non-oil sectors of the economy and foreign investment. As a result of the program, international donors pledged about $5 billion for development projects. In addition, Yemen has made some progress on reforms over the last year that will likely encourage foreign investment. Oil revenues probably increased in 2007 as a result of higher prices.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$56.24 billion (2007 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

$21.66 billion (2007 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

2.8% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$2,500 (2007 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 12.4% industry: 40.9% services: 46.7% (2007 est.)

Labor force:

6.305 million (2007 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

note: most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force

Unemployment rate:

35% (2003 est.)

Population below poverty line:

45.2% (2003)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: 3% highest 10%: 25.9% (2003)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:

33.4 (1998)

Investment (gross fixed):

25% of GDP (2007 est.)

Budget:

revenues: $7.576 billion expenditures: $8.391 billion (2007 est.)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Public debt:

33.5% of GDP (2007 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

10% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate:

NA

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

18% (31 December 2007)

Stock of money:

$3.076 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money:

$4.526 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit:

$2.224 billion (31 December 2007)

Agriculture - products:

grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat, coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish

Industries:

crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement; commercial ship repair

Industrial production growth rate:

3.2% (2007 est.)

Electricity - production:

5.017 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - consumption:

3.804 billion kWh (2006 est.)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2007 est.)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)

Oil - production:

320,600 bbl/day (2007 est.)

Oil - consumption:

135,400 bbl/day (2006 est.)

Oil - exports:

336,600 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - imports:

62,850 bbl/day (2005)

Oil - proved reserves:

3 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)

Natural gas - production:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - exports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - imports:

0 cu m (2007 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:

478.5 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

Current account balance:

-$362 million (2007 est.)

Exports:

$7.311 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities:

crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish

Exports - partners:

China 23.3%, India 20.4%, Thailand 19.1%, Japan 7.2%, UAE 5%, US 4.2% (2007)

Imports:

$6.735 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities:

food and live animals, machinery and equipment, chemicals

Imports - partners: